St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-08-18
wHAT.CAN BE DONE IN VERMONT.
What Pluck and Hard Work VIII Ac-
cOmpIish.

/
What Pluck and Hard Work VIII Ac
compIish.
Here is fresh bit of evidence bear
ing directly on the question as to wha
a poor man may accomplish on thu
hill farms of Vermont. Western pa
pers and Western men never tire o
telling stories of the possibilities O
that country. Eastern papers and
Eastern men may fairly claim an oc
casional hearing. The best part of the
following story is that it is true. We
could "name the man. were it wise tC
do SO.
Some 25 or 80 years ago there was a
young man here in Caledonia county
who was a member of family of pau
pers; his father, mother, two sisters
and brother besides himself were
living in town pOorhouse. This young
man was not robust but 'shired out" on
the farms in the neighborhood as he
was able and as opportunity offered,
and in the course of time saved a small
sum of money. Going away from the
village, he bargained for an old hill
farm on the back roads and removed
from civilization" The cost though
seeming large to him was comparative
ly trifling. The first payment we'll
nigh exhausted his small store of saw
ings, while mortgage was given for
the balance of the purchase money.
So, it will be seen, this man began life
very much as a backwoodsman in the
West might begin. He struck into the
woods and made clearing-as back
woodsmen do; worked early and late
AS backwoodsmen do built for him :
self modest home, mere hut-as
backwoodsmen do lived in the plain
est way possible-as backwoodsmen
do.
By slow degrees the house was i'm
proved, and one by one he took his
parents, sisters and brother from the
poorhouse, continuing his hard work
and indulging in none but the bare ne
cessities of life. In few years the
farm was his own, not very grand
affair at best, but still a comfortable
New England home. Meanwhile, it
may be incidentally mentioned, our
hero had taken unto himself wife
and was rearing family. Time pass
ed on, as it hasa habit of doing, and
hard work and plain living resulted in
still further accumulatiOns. To make
a long story short this man, to-day not
old, never physically robust and not
above the average as regards mental
ability, is thrifty citizen, living in
his own home and having a little spare
money, which on occasion he loans to
his less fortunate neighbors, no doubt
at remunerative rates of interest; while
the borrowers, very likely, are men
who purpose stopping in this worn out
country only until they can see an OPP
portunity to sell out and go West.
AS we have already said, the above
is bit of practical experience. What
has been done may be done. In this
county and in every county in this
state there are just such opportunities
awaiting men who are not afraid of
hard work. There are few who start
under more adverse circumstances
than the hero of this sketch. His ex-
perience furnishes an unanswerable ar
gument in refutatiOn of the oft-rcpeat
ed statement that poor farmer can
not in these later years get a living in
Vermont. Let him adopt Western
methods including the deprivatiOns
and hard work incident to frontier
life and verify he will have his re-
ward.